Story Title: Eight In The MorningAuthor Name: Lady AltairStory Url:Story LinkContent Rating: All AgesStatus: CompletedLength: Short StoryStory Summary: The first fifteen minutes of a not-quite-ordinary morning in the Auror’s Department for Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. “Really, what were ex-girlfriends and ex-Slytherins with itchy wand hands when there were monster children and pregnant wives at home?”

Gioia’s Rec:Lady Altair has a sly wit which tends to deliver delicious punchlines at the end of her fics. However this story doesn’t contain just a single zinger; it’s full of them. I think what I enjoy so much about it is the absolute normality of a crazy day for “Head-Auror-Harry,” as Ron has dubbed him. Perfectly consistent with canon, the post-DH story gives us a glimpse at pre-Epilogue life for the trio as well as a few other canon characters. Amidst the humor, there is still a bit of solemn acknowledgment of what the war cost them. The character growth that the war caused is obviously there, thanks to the well-depicted characterizations. Overall, it’s amazing how much depth, humor and insight there is in this one small fic. Much of it didn’t even hit me until afterwards, when I reflected upon how much I learned about everyone directly and indirectly depicted here. This story is a fantastic example of what it means to be a good writer.